Apple Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Serves:

16

Coffee and cake—a match made in coffee shop heaven.

Picking your own apples will likely give you more selection than the supermarket's common varieties and you're getting the freshest apples possible. With just a few hours from orchard to oven, you're guaranteed to lock in that fresh apple taste.

Don't worry if coffee cake batter seems very thick. The apples will release their juices as they bake, adding moisture to the finished product. The cinnamon-sugar topping will form a sweet, crunchy crust.

The firm texture of coffee cake makes it great for slicing and transporting to those inevitable fall tailgate parties. And it freezes well, so you can have that fresh-from-the-orchard taste long after the leaves have fallen.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups peeled, sliced apples

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour one 9-inch square baking dish.

Sift together the flour, 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Finely chop half of the apples and leave the other half sliced.

Cream the butter and 1 cup of the sugar together on medium speed until very light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well to combine after each addition. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to combine the ingredients thoroughly. Add the chopped apples and sour cream and stir until combined.

Stir in the sifted dry ingredients. Add the sliced apples and fold them into the batter gently, just until the slices are coated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it into an even layer.

Stir together the remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the surface of the batter. Bake 45 to 50 minutes in a pre-heated oven, or until tester comes out clean and the edges shrink from the sides of the pan.